Fuck You (CeeLo Green song)

"F**k You!"
Single by CeeLo Green
from the album The Lady Killer
Released August 19, 2010
Format
Recorded 2010
Genre
Length 3:41
Label Elektra
Writer(s)
Producer(s) The Smeezingtons
CeeLo Green singles chronology
"The One"
(2004)		 "Fuck You!"
(2010)		 "It's OK"
(2010)
Music video
Video on YouTube

"Fuck You" (stylized as "Fuck You!" or "F**k You!"), also titled "Forget You" or "FU" for the clean versions, is a song by American recording artist CeeLo Green. It was written by Green, The Smeezingtons, and Brody Brown, and produced by The Smeezingtons. It was released on August 19, 2010 as the first single from Green's third studio album, The Lady Killer (2010). "Fuck You" received positive reviews from music critics, and was an international commercial success, making the top-10 in thirteen countries, including topping charts in the United Kingdom, and number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

Inspiration

In an interview with NME, Green revealed that the song is actually aimed at the music industry itself.[1]

Versions

Several versions of "Fuck You" have been released. The version of the song edited to remove swearing, which is broadcast in the music video on UK television stations, and played on US radio, is called "Forget You", while the UK radio edit is entitled "FU".[2][3] All three versions differ in lyrical content, with "Fuck You" being completely uncensored, "Forget You" replacing the swearing with sound effects, and "FU" replacing them by editing them out completely and leaving blank spaces. All three versions can be found on iTunes and both "Fuck You" and "Forget You" are included in an extended play, which features the music video and lyric video, and was released on August 19, 2010,[4] whereas "FU" did not appear in the store until September 21.[5]

A fourth version of the song, featuring American rapper 50 Cent, was released to iTunes in March 2011. The version was entitled "Fuck You (Heartbreaker)!", and was released only in America. The video for this version of the song incorporates scenes from the original video with extra shots of 50 Cent performing. Cee Lo performed a remix of the song, featuring an all-female backing band named "Scarlet Fever", on the The Colbert Report on November 9, 2010. The remix was entitled "Fuck You (Fox News)". The first full verse of the song was a satirical parody of Fox News Channel controversies.[6] A fifth version of the song, entitled "Thank You", was released on May 9, 2011. The song was re-written with new lyrics as a tribute to firefighters. The lyrics mention that Cee Lo's mother was a firefighter. A new version of the video was released with scenes of Cee Lo visiting a fire station.[7][8]

Music video

Initially, a lyric video for "Fuck You" was released to YouTube on August 19, 2010,[9] featuring kinetic typography, with the lyrics of the song appearing on different colored backgrounds with film grain overlaid on the video. The same thing was done in the German and Spanish versions of the video, translating the lyrics, although the vocals remained in English.

The official music video was released on September 1, 2010.[10] The video was directed by Matt Stawski and was filmed at Cadillac Jack's, a movie prop diner located in the Sun Valley area of Los Angeles.[10] Taking place in a diner, the video chronicles Cee Lo's misadventures with a girl he has a crush on, known as "The Heartbreaker" throughout the video. In the beginning, a young Cee Lo goes into the diner with his parents and goes up to the Heartbreaker, who is sitting with another boy. He offers to let the Heartbreaker play with his toy garbage truck, but she ignores him and walks away with the other boy, who has a toy Ferrari F40. In his high school years, Cee Lo works at the diner as a chef. He attempts to woo the Heartbreaker with a bouquet of flowers but slips on fries deliberately dropped by another boy. The flowers fly out of his hand and land on a much younger girl's lap. During his college years, Cee Lo studies in the diner with another woman, implied to be his music tutor. He then attempts to woo the Heartbreaker by having the waitress draw a heart-shaped ketchup mark on her hot dog plate, but the Heartbreaker approaches him with a basket of fries and spills them on his shirt, leaving a large ketchup stain on it. Cee Lo then goes through an epiphany in his life and the video fast-forwards to present day, when Cee Lo is now known as "The Lady Killer" and has a fancy Cadillac Eldorado with his backup singers in the back seat. He drives past the diner to find the Heartbreaker working there, sweeping the front entrance while others are dancing behind her. Cee Lo waves at the Heartbreaker before driving away. The final shot is of him waving at the camera and the words "The Lady Killer" appearing on screen, before the shot freezes, thus ending the video.

The radio edit version of the video contains re-shot elements which have been mixed with parts from the original, most notably when Cee Lo is on screen and he is singing alternative lyrics, but he is not shown singing the clean lyrics in the titular chorus. Some parts of the video tend to freeze for a split second when a bowdlerized lyric is being mouthed to prevent the lips from being read. At the start of the explicit version, the mother of the young Cee Lo Green can be seen to look very shocked and taps him on the shoulder to make him turn around when he first swears. This does not happen in the clean version.

Commercial performance

In the U.S., the song debuted at No. 69 on Hot Digital Songs and No. 96 on the Billboard Hot 100.[11] The song originally peaked at number 9 in 2010, but following Cee Lo's performance of the song at the 53rd Grammy Awards, "Fuck You" had a resurgence in popularity and climbed back up the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching No. 2 in its 26th chart week (making it one of the slowest climbs ever into the number 2 position). The song remained at No. 2 for four consecutive weeks, kept from the top spot by Lady Gaga's "Born This Way."[12] In all, the single spent a total of 48 weeks on the Hot 100. It was certified Gold on November 5, 2010.[13]

The week of March 24, 2011, the song was the best-selling song in the USA of 2011, having been sold 1,865,000 times in 2011 only, despite the song never reaching No. 1 and being released in August 2010.[14] In the subsequent week, the song surpassed 2 million copies in sales in 2011 alone, bringing its total to 3,707,000 copies.[15] The week of April 16, 2011, the song topped the Pop Songs radio airplay chart in its 25th week, completing the longest journey to the summit in the ranking's 18-year history.[16] As of April 2013, "Fuck You" had sold over 6 million copies in the U.S.[17]

Critical reception

"Fuck You" received general acclaim from music critics. Jason Lipshutz from Billboard gave "Fuck You" a positive review stating, "it's as sunny as a '60s Motown hit and as expletive-laden as an early Eminem song, a combination that fits the singer's sky-high vocals and offbeat sense of humor well. Over a twinkling piano line, bumping bass and steady percussion, Green shakes off a failed relationship with a gold digger by packing the simple pleasures of old-school soul music into tongue-in-cheek verses and a suitably soaring chorus."[18] Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song four out of five stars writing: "As its title suggests, 'Fuck You' is essentially a middle finger extending from the fist of a pop single—and a gloriously catchy Motown stomper of a pop single at that."[19] Alexandra Patsavas, music supervisor for the "Twilight" films, praised Mars' ability to veer between "a beautifully crafted pop song exquisitely sung" and the likes of Cee-Lo's "Fuck You". She confessed "How sublime that an artist can travel so fluidly between humor and earnestness," she said.[20]

Accolades

At the 53rd Grammy Awards, "Fuck You" was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and won Best Urban/Alternative Performance. The video was also nominated for Best Short Form Music Video.[21] It was named the #1 song of 2010 by Time, and made the top of Metacritic's users poll.[22][23] Spin and The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll named "Fuck You" the best single of 2010. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 112 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[24]

Live performances

Cee Lo Green performing

Cee Lo toured with an all-female backing band named Scarlet Fever, performing "Fuck You" on Taratata, at the Reeperbahn Festival, Later... with Jools Holland, Late Show with David Letterman the 31st annual Children in Need telethon, the Christmas edition of BBC One chart show Top of the Pops, Saturday Night Live and many other venues. Cee Lo also performed at the 53rd Grammy Awards on February 13, 2011 with actress Gwyneth Paltrow and several puppets provided by The Jim Henson Company. Two days later, he sang at the 2011 BRIT Awards alongside UK singer Paloma Faith. On August 14, Cee Lo sang at WWE's 2011 Summerslam pay-per-view event in Los Angeles with the addition of WWE Divas dancing to "Fuck You" at the event's venue.

Track listings

  1. "FU" (Clean version) – 3:42
  2. "FU" (Semi-clean version) – 3:42
  • Fuck You
CD Single
  1. "Georgia" – 3:46
Maxi-Single
  1. "Asshole!" – 3:42
  2. "Forget You" – 3:42
  3. "Forget You" (Le Castle Vania remix) – 4:38
  4. "Georgia" – 3:46
Digital Single[26][27]
  1. "Fuck You" – 3:42
  2. "Forget You" – 3:42
  3. "Fuck You" (Video) – 3:42
  4. "Fuck You" (Lyric video) – 3:42
12" vinyl single
  1. "Fuck You" – 3:42
  2. "Fuck You" (Instrumental) – 3:42
  • Fuck You (Heartbreaker)
  1. "Fuck You (Heartbreaker)" (featuring 50 Cent) – 4:05
  • Thank You
  1. "Thank You" – 4:01

Credits and personnel

Mixing and mastering
Personnel
  • Songwriting – Cee Lo Green, Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine
  • Production – The Smeezingtons
  • Mixing – Manny Marroquin
    • Assistant – Christian Plata, Erik Madrid
  • Mastering - Chris Gehringer
  • Engineer – Ari Levine
  • All instruments played by – Ari Levine, Bruno Mars, Brody Brown

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Lady Killer, Elektra Records

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2010–11) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[28] 5
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[29] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[30] 12
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[31] 27
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[32] 7
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[33] 21
Denmark (Tracklisten)[34] 2
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[35] 3
France (SNEP)[36] 86
Germany (Official German Charts)[37] 11
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[38] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[39] 6
Israel (Media Forest)[40] 2
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[41] 52
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[42] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[43] 5
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[44] 1
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[45] 3
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[46] 6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 13
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[48] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[49] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[50] 2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[51] 13
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[52] 2
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[53] 33
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[54] 57
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[55] 1
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[56] 10

Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Position
Australian Singles Chart[57] 23
European Hot 100 Singles[58] 72
Canadian Hot 100[59] 77
Dutch Singles Chart[60] 39
Germany (Media Control Charts)[61] 97
Hungary (Mahasz)[62] 45
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[63] 12
Chart (2011) Position
Hungarian Airplay Chart[64] 84
US Billboard Hot 100[65] 7

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[66] 3× Platinum 210,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[67] Gold 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[68] 4× Platinum 320,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[69] Platinum 60,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[70] Platinum 15,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[71] Platinum 980,000[72]
United States (RIAA)[73] 7× Platinum 6,000,000[17]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Cover versions and media appearances

Release history

Region Date Format Label
United States August 19, 2010 CD single Elektra
United Kingdom October 4, 2010[79]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "CeeLo Green - NME Video Interview music video on MUZU". MUZU.
  2. ↑ "Cee Lo's Viral Hit: Blunt and Sweet". All Things Considered. NPR. August 26, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  3. ↑ Brown, Damon (August 30, 2010). "Cee Lo's YouTube hit you won't hear on radio". CNN. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  4. ↑ "F**k You – Deluxe Single by Cee Lo Green – Download F**k You – Deluxe Single on iTunes". iTunes. 2010-09-07. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
  5. ↑ "FU – Single by Cee Lo Green – Download FU – Single on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
  6. ↑ Ward, Kate (November 10, 2010). "Cee-Lo Green swaps 'Fox News' for 'F—k You' on 'Colbert'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 6, 2011. Saw you driving ’round town with the girl I love on Fox News / Didn’t see one politician that wasn’t corrupt on the Fox News, and I get the blues / The poor get poorer, the rich get richer / Ain’t that some s— / I’m having pains in my chest because I’m so stressed over Fox News.
  7. ↑ "Cee Lo Turns 'Forget You' Into 'Thank You'". May 9, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2011. It's a very noble cause, and I connect with it very, very personally because my mother was a fireman as well — one of the first black female firemen in Atlanta, Georgia, so quite a historic accomplishment.
  8. ↑ Gonzalez, Sandra (May 9, 2011). "Cee Lo adapts 'Forget You' for ode to firefighters. Now this is a tribute!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  9. ↑ Green, Cee Lo (2010-08-19). "Cee Lo Green – FUCK YOU". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  10. 1 2 Green, Cee Lo (2010-09-01). "Cee Lo Green – FUCK YOU (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-09-06.
  11. ↑ "Cee Lo: I Wanted to 'Rock the Boat' with 'F**k You'". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  12. ↑ "Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Grows Atop Grammy-Fueled Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  13. ↑ "RIAA Gold & Platinum – Cee Lo". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  14. ↑ "Week Ending March 20, 2011: Songs: The Chris Brown Matter – Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 2011-03-23. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
  15. ↑ "Week Ending March 27, 2011: Songs: Katy Moves Up – Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 2011-03-30. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
  16. ↑ "The Year in Chart Headlines, Part 1". Billboard. 2011-12-27. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  17. 1 2 Paul Grein (April 10, 2013). "Week Ending April 7, 2013. Songs: Discount Helps Bruno Reach #1". Yahoo Music (Chart Watch). Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  18. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (3 September 2010). "Cee Lo Green ,"Fuck You" | Billboard.com". Billboard. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  19. ↑ Levine, Nick (5 October 2010). "Music – Singles Review – Cee Lo Green: 'F**k You' – Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  20. ↑ Ryan Pearson (August 8, 2012). "Bruno Mars Heads Back To Grammys With Production Team, Smeezingtons". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  21. ↑ National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (2010-12-01). "53rd Annual Grammy Awards: Final Nominations List" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  22. ↑ J-23 (2010-12-10). "Kanye West, Big Boi, Drake Make Time Magazine's Top 10 Albums | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  23. ↑ "Best of 2010 Metacritic User Poll Results". Metacritic. January 10, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  24. ↑ "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
  25. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Fu Clean And Dirty Mixes Dj Cd | eBay". Cgi.ebay.co.uk. 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  26. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Cee Lo Green – Fuck You". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  27. ↑ "F**k You – Deluxe Single by Cee Lo Green – Download bitch You – Deluxe Single on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  28. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Cee Lo Green – F**k You". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  29. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Cee Lo Green – F**k You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  30. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Cee Lo Green – F**k You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  31. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Cee Lo Green – F**k You" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  32. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Cee Lo Green.
  33. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201052 into search. Retrieved 2010-12-28.
  34. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Cee Lo Green – F**k You". Tracklisten.
  35. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Chart history" European Hot 100 for Cee Lo Green.
  36. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Cee Lo Green – F**k You" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  37. ↑ "Musicline.de – Cee Lo Green Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  38. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  39. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 37, 2010". Irish Singles Chart.
  40. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Fuck You Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  41. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Chart history" Japan Hot 100 for Cee Lo Green.
  42. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Cee Lo Green – F**k You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  43. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Cee Lo Green – F**k You". Top 40 Singles.
  44. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2010-10-16". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  45. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 20112 into search. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  46. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Cee Lo Green – F**k You". Singles Top 100.
  47. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Cee Lo Grren – F**k You". Swiss Singles Chart.
  48. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2010-10-16" UK R&B Chart.
  49. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2010-10-016" UK Singles Chart.
  50. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Cee Lo Green.
  51. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Cee Lo Green.
  52. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Cee Lo Green.
  53. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for Cee Lo Green.
  54. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Cee Lo Green.
  55. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Cee Lo Green.
  56. ↑ "Cee Lo Green – Chart history" Billboard Rhythmic Songs for Cee Lo Green.
  57. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
  58. ↑ "European Hot 100". Billboard.com. 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  59. ↑ "Charts Year End: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  60. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl – Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
  61. ↑ "VIVA Single Jahrescharts 2010". VIVA (viva.tv). 2010-01-05. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  62. ↑ "MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 2010" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  63. ↑ "2010 Year-end UK Singles". BBC (BBC Online). 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  64. ↑ "MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 2011" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  65. ↑ "Best of 2011: Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  66. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2011 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  67. ↑ "Austrian single certifications – Cee Lo Green – F**k You" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Cee Lo Green in the field Interpret. Enter F**k You in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
  68. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Ceelo Green – Forget You". Music Canada.
  69. ↑ "Certificeringer - Ceelo Green - Fuck You" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  70. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Ceelo Green – Forget You". Recorded Music NZ.
  71. ↑ "British single certifications – Ceelo Green – Forget You". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Forget You in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  72. ↑ Moss, Liv (June 19, 2015). "Official Biggest Selling Singles of the decade so far revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  73. ↑ "American single certifications – Ceelo Green – Forget You". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  74. ↑ Nissim, Mayer (November 15, 2010). "Cee Lo Green: 'X Factor cover was cool'". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  75. ↑ "'Glee' Cast's 10 Best-Selling Downloads". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  76. ↑ Murata, Glow (January 19, 2012). "Vázquez Sounds regresan a YouTube con Forget You". Milenio (in Spanish). Grupo Multimedios. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  77. ↑ "Certificaciones – Vazquez Sounds" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas.
  78. ↑ Stinson, Elizabeth (September 28, 2010). "Cee Lo's 'Fuck You' Gets Reimagined, Nerd-Style". Wired News. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  79. ↑ Praxis Media. "Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: UK Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples Downloads". Radio1.gr. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
Preceded by
"Written in the Stars" by Tinie Tempah (featuring Eric Turner)		 UK Singles Chart number-one single
10 October 2010 – 23 October 2010 		Succeeded by
"Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars
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